Letter: Brinkley's actions earn respect

Lisa Crawford

We are sorry that we can no longer vote for Sen. David Brinkley because of redistricting, and you should know why.

We, like many others, had problems with the Maryland Health Care Exchange. Our insurance dropped our family plan and we could not get through the broken system. I kept detailed records of my attempts and forwarded them to several politicians. My kids seemed healthy at the time, so that was one thing I thought I did not need to be worried about. I was wrong. My 10 year old son collapsed in our backyard on a snow day in February. We could not get him to wake up and there was no apparent reason for his unconsciousness. It is horrible when you are worried about making a decision on what to do based on your health care coverage. Thankfully a passing neighbor made it for me.

He ended up being taken to University of Maryland and kept for three days and too many tests to count. A department at the hospital submitted an insurance application for me, but it ended up lost in downtown Baltimore. If our insurance was approved within 30 days they could back date it to the beginning of the month, but no one knew where our application was.

Once again, I contacted several of my elected officials, as our family's medical bills were racking up to the tune of more than $20,000. The only one who responded was Brinkley. His staff cut through the red tape. On the very last day that this could be approved, his executive assistant, Lisa Dennison stayed in touch with me throughout the day to make sure everything was being processed.

When I called Brinkley's office they did not ask if I was Republican or Democrat. No one asked what voting district I lived in. My family has never donated to any of his campaigns, yet Brinkley made sure my family was taken care of.

Brinkley cares how the laws that are made affect those in and out of his voting District.

Brinkley has earned my loyalty. No, I am not talking voting record, because that never tells the whole story. I am talking about the human side of politics, the one that we rarely see any more.